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The Authority of Jesus Challenged

²³ And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

³³ “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants^[c] to the tenants to get his fruit. ³⁵ And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”^[e]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

22 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, ³ and sent his servants^[a] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ⁴ Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. ¹² And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

The longer we have our faith, the more likely we are to become stuck in a rut. In this part of God’s Word, we see some of the religious leaders in this fate. Jesus, out of His great compassion and mercy for these individuals, teaches them what God’s Kingdom actually looks like, so that they may become unstuck from this rut. By taking a look at what He teaches them, we too can learn how to become unstuck, or even prevent this rut. When we look at this part of God’s Word we can realize:

1. The Kingdom of God is not for those with perfect backgrounds, but rather for those who believe, and do the will of the Father

Matt. 21:28-32, 1 Tim. 1:15, Mark 2:17, Luke 19:10, John 1:12, 7:17, Eph. 5:17, 1 Pet. 4:2

2. The Kingdom of God is not about what we can get out of it, but rather aligning our will with God’s, in order to co-reign with Him

Matt. 21:33-45, 6:10, Rev. 3:21, 5:9-10, 20:4, Rom. 8:17, Eph. 2:6, 2 Tim. 2:12, 1 Pet. 2:9, 1 Cor. 6:1-3, Dan. 7:27, Luke 22:42

3. The Kingdom of God is not for those who are antagonistic, indifferent, or unchanged, but rather seeks all who will allow for God to transform them

Matt. 22:1-14, 12:30, Rom. 12:1-2, 2 Pet. 3:9, Eph. 4:22-24, 2 Cor. 5:17, Col. 3:10, Ez. 36:26  

 

Reflecting on God’s Word

Getting Started

• Take some time to read over Matthew 21:23-22:14 and pray. 
• Have you ever read or heard about this before? What stood out to you as we were talking about it? 
• What surprised you as we talked about it?
• Why do you think it’s so easy for us to become stuck in a rut in our faith? 
• Have you ever felt like you have been stuck in a rut in your faith? If so, how did you get out of it? 
• Do you feel like your faith is stuck in a rut right now? If so, why do you think that is? If not, what has prevented your faith from becoming stuck in a rut?

 

Diving In 

1. None of us are perfect. When we feel like we have to be in order to have a good relationship with the Lord, our faith will become stuck in a rut. How can you remember to repent, and do the will of the Father better? 

 

2. Our focus should not be on what we can get out of God for our own shellfish gain. When our focus becomes that, our faith will become stuck in a rut. How can your focus stay on aligning your will with that of the Father’s? 

 

3. In Jesus’ last parable, none of those who are indifferent, antagonistic, or even those who are unchanged inherit the Kingdom of God. Rather, God’s will is that all will come into a saving relationship with Him, and be transformed by Him. What aspect(s) of your life have you not allowed God to transform? How can you allow God to transform that aspect of your life?

 

Applying the Scripture

What are your biggest takeaways from this passage of God’s Word? 

• What practical step(s) do you need to implement in your life to apply what God has taught you in this passage of Scripture? 
• How would applying this affect your life and your relationship with the Lord? 
• Who can you ask to keep you accountable to applying this to your life?

Open with prayer.

Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?

If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.

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Prayer Time:

Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.

Staying Missional:

Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:

Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?

What’s next?

Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?